Quinton Jackson (29-7) has posted seven wins in eight fights, a disputed decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 the lone blemish. He knocked out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December, launching himself back into title contention. Earlier this month, Jackson pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges associated with a high-speed chase that ended in his arrest in July; the plea deal will likely allow him to avoid jail time.

Jardine has been on the cusp of a championship match twice with big wins over Griffin and Chuck Liddell but his title dreams were cut short when he dropped matches to Houston Alexander and then Wanderlei Silva following those bouts. Coming off of a win over Brandon Vera at UFC 89, a win over Jackson would give Jardine the kind of momentum needed to earn his first-ever shot at the UFC light heavyweight title.

Hamill (5-2), a three-time NCAA Division III wrestling champion and cast member on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, earned three-straight victories to begin his UFC career but has since gone 2-2, dropping bouts to Michael Bisping and Rich Franklin while picking up victories over Tim Boetsch and, most-recently, dominated Reese Andy at UFC 92.

The former collegiate wrestling Division III national champion has earned four of his five career victories by TKO.

Mark Munoz, is a former collegiate wrestling Division I national champion made his professional debut in May 2007 and has since reeled off five-straight wins.

Training under the watchful guidance of WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber in Sacramento, Calif, Munoz has successfully made the transition from standout collegiate wrestler to budding mixed martial arts superstar. Munoz was an NCAA champion while at Oklahoma State, which is a powerhouse in wrestling that has produced the likes of Randy Couture, Jake Rosholt, Johny Hendricks, and Shane Roller.

Undefeated WEC veteran, Munoz earned victories in the UFC’s sister promotion over Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barros before being forced to make the jump to the UFC’s 205-pound division.

For the third year in a row, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading back to Columbus, Ohio. The UFC announced today that the world’s premier fight organization will travel back to Columbus, Ohio for UFC 96, live from the Nationwide Arena on Saturday, March 7, 2009.

The UFC first arrived in Columbus for UFC 68 in March 2007 for one historic night as Randy Couture won the heavyweight crown for an unprecedented third time as he beat Tim Sylvia. The show’s gate, which surpassed $3 million, set a Nationwide Arena record; the 19,000 fans who saw the event live set a record for the highest North American attendance figure for a mixed martial arts event.

Last March, the UFC returned to Columbus as 15,300 people watched Anderson Silvasuccessfully defend his middleweight title against then PRIDE champion Dan Henderson. The star-studded matchup grossed a gate of $2.2 million at Nationwide

UFC 96 will be available live on pay-per-view on IN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada

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